'Project Runway' Move To Lifetime Postponed After NBCU Legal Winpro
This story was written by Staci D. Kramer.
Project Runway won't show up on Lifetime this fall, after all, following an NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) victory in New York State Supreme Court. The Weinstein Co's hit reality show was supposed to switch from Bravo to the ABC-Hearst-owned network for its sixth season in November. But NBCU won a preliminary injunction late Friday when Judge Richard Lowe ruled that the GE subsidiary might be able to prove in court its claim that it legally had first refusal for renewing the show. NBCU also had to put up a $20 million bond 10 percent of what Weinstein says the deal with Lifetime is worth, according to Reuters. NBCU claimed victory in its statement; Weinstein also lost its motion for dismissal bit tried to find some blue sky in the required bond posting.
TVWeek: In the ruling, the judge promised an expedited hearing but barred Lifetime from any "promotion, marketing and exhibition."
By Staci D. Kramer